#the secret of croftmore

[marchentraume]

I put on David Tennant’s episode of Dramarama and I almost cried???

Not only was he adorably bratty the story was so simple but beautiful, love how ghosts are a positive device to the story instead of fear (like in most American shows)

Also I thought this was a 90s show but it is indeed late 80s lol no wonder he’s such a baby 🥰 link to watch for anyone who’d enjoy it!

[pitbullwithaship]

So in case y'all didn't know I do in fact have an✨️obsession✨️ with David Tennant. Which of course means I now need to watch his entire Filmography which I can pretty reliably do thanks to @bro-ken-spoon 's spreadsheet (I love a good spreadsheet).

So I'm of course gonna start at the beginning and y'all get to see a (hopefully well formatted unlike my Dr Who liveblogs, hope and pray this isn't just a list of random thoughts my brain thinks) rundown of each role and my thoughts which means it is time for...

THOUGHTS PART TWO, PART ONE OF WATCHING DAVID TENNANTS ENTIRE FILMOGRAPHY WITH ME

Which will get a better title eventually but for now I'm gonna tag it as WDTEFWM. Kidding I'll tag it Watching Tennant's Filmography. Great okay let's get started with

PART ONE, DRAMARAMA THE SECRET OF CROFTMORE

Guys. Guys he's so baby in this. He is a child!! He plays a child (okay so he's a teenager whatever) I swear he's probably like my age in this maybe a tad older. But he's baby! Like compared to how I'm used to seeing him at age like 30 and over in all his other stuff omg. Child.

Anywho, yeah, it's just the one episode and his characters name is Neil and he's kind of bratty for the first bit cuz he's a certified rugby kid and all. But then he's nice and stops being mean to his cousin.

Oh and he gets to see the ✨️ghosts✨️ eventually maybe cuz he stops being mean. But the character is cute and the episode is cute and yes it's a tiny thing but it's cute and he did a good job okay.

Also the entire thing was incredibly Scottish. Like so Scottish. This is more Scottish than my hair.

[that-one-annoying-fox]

David Tennant - Episode 2

Neil McDonald in 'Dramarama' | The Secret of Croftmore

I give this one a 4/10. It's a young David Tennant, trying his best to act with a subpar storyline. I think overall it's a sweet little story, but mostly it falls short of Tennant's normal successes. But. This one is worth a fanfiction.

So, here it is. It’s called A Special Kind Of Madness and it’s just a cute little fic. Enjoy!

[oakdown]

DAVID TENNANT, THE 'GRAMMARIAN' SCHOOL MAGAZINE 1989

Transcript below the break

"As some of you may remember from last year, David MacDonald, then in his 5th year, had a leading part in I.T.V.'s "Dramarama" Production "The Secret of Croftmore".

Since then David's career in Acting has gone from strength to strength.

After leaving Paisley Grammar last year, David succesfully gained a place at the "R.S.A.M.D." in Glasgow, where he is studying for a B.A. in Dramatic Arts. As he explained to the "Grammarian", the course draws together every aspect of producing a show, whether it be for Television or for the Theatre. As part of his course work, he has to learn about:

Movement (How to sway like a tree)

Vocal Projection (How to shout at the audience)

Make-up (How to hide your zits)

Directing (How to shout at other people)

Stage Management (How to arrange furniture)

On top of this, he has regular periods of Dancing, Singing and Fencing?????

David has a further 2 years with the "R.S.A.M.D." before leaving to go into either Teaching or serious Acting. Given the choice David would prefer to do the latter. Already this year, he has completed the filming of a Television Play, which will be screened by the B.B.C. later in the year.

David has two screen idols: John Cleese, as he is a "Genius" and has the longest legs ever seen on television, and also Derek Jacobi, whom he met recently.

David has no real ambitions, only to live and to "fulfill" himself, -Whatever that means?

There is however one particular role which David would love to play - Dr. WHO.

The reason?

"I have a fettish about men dressed in plastic suits !!!!!"

When you do see David on the television or on the stage it won't be as David MacDonald, but as David Tennant, his stage-name.

Who knows, maybe one day David will be as famous as Peter Howitt (Joey, from "BREAD") who was also a pupil at Paisley Grammar School.

[consanguinitatum]

David Tennant's Obscure TV Appearances: 1989's Biting The Hands

I'm back from my visit with my family and ready to dive straight into my latest find - I'm excited to share I've finally obtained access to David's 3rd earliest TV performance! His first two performances were in 1988: his anti-smoking ad, and in Dramarama: The Secret Of Croftmore. And in 1989 he did a Play On One called Biting The Hands. And I've FINALLY got it! Biting The Hands has been one of the most elusive pieces of work David did in his early years. First, it wasn't a sitcom or an ad but a one-off play, and it was broadcast in the late 1980s, limiting its exposure to those who might be recording on beta or VHS. It was part of the second series of the prime-time contemporary single TV play series, The Play On One (which was itself a re-tooling of an older series called The Play For Today.) Biting The Hands was directed by Carol Wilks and produced by Norman McCandlish. It was 75 mins in length, and was broadcast at 9:30 pm on 11 Apr 1989. Here's the play's synopsis: "Linda and Gail are Hell's Belles - an alternative comedy double act. When success begins to beckon, they must decide whether to change their act or keep doing what they believe in. Are their principles justified, or are they just 'biting the hand that feeds them'?"

The writer of Biting The Hands, Rona Munro, was born in Aberdeen in 1959 and is an award-winning Scottish playwright. She started writing professionally in 1981 and has written for film, television, stage and radio. Biting The Hands was Munro's first play for BBC-TV. Given today's excitement about the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary trailer, it might interest Whovians to know Munro wrote the classic DW story Survival as well as the New Who story The Eaters of Light, making her the first (and only!) writer to do both Classic and New Who!

But Munro has yet ANOTHER connection with our dear DT! For their production of Scotland Matters in 1992, the 7:84 Scottish People's Theatre asked established Scottish writers to consider aspects of life in Scotland and write playlets about them. Munro was one of these writers! She wrote a playlet called 'The Fence' for Scotland Matters which concerned the interrogation of a Gulf War peace protester. In a turn around of questioning technique, we are told the story through the security police and not via the protester. David played the protester Keith!

But back to Biting The Hands - which was produced three years before Scotland Matters and filmed when David was still in drama school. Let's take a look at what the play was about, and go more in depth about its stars: Judith Sweeney (Linda) and Louise Beattie (Gail).

Judith Sweeney (Linda McKay) attended David's alma mater - the RSAMD, now the Royal Conservatoire - and graduated in 1977. She played the role of Sally Shaw on the Scottish soap opera Take The High Road. Louise Beattie (Gail Graham) later went on to star in Emmerdale.

Here are a few more articles on "Biting The Hands" from the time of its broadcast:

Beattie's older sister Maureen has ALSO starred with DT many times! Among these are For One Night Only (an evening of theatrical prose, poetry, and gossip at the Swan Theatre for the 1998 RSC Fringe Festival) and a 2001 staged reading of Medea at the Cottesloe Theatre. More recently, Maureen has played David’s mother in Deadwater Fell, and Kelly MacDonald's mother in The Decoy Bride!

Now we've been introduced to the stars of the play, and we know what it's about, let's get to David's part! His part begins about 47 minutes into the play, and it's a role which makes up a total of about 20 whole seconds. He plays one of three squaddies (low-ranking military) and is in a group of soldiers who travel on the train the main characters Linda and Gail board in Edinburgh to go to London - but he's not seen in this particular scene. After the ladies board the return train back home to Edinburgh, by coincidence these same squaddies happen to be traveling on their train. David's character is the only one of the squaddies to speak, and his words entail wolf-whistles at the two women and calling them "Pet"! Here are some screenshots:

In a later scene, Linda and Gail happen to bump into another friend on the train, and the three open a bottle of liquor and sing and drink. David's character sings and drinks with them. Here are a few screenshots of that short scene:

You may notice in the first set of screenshots David is clean shaven & in the second, he sports a mustache. These scenes all supposedly occur on the same train from London to Edinburgh so it seems there's a continuity error here. Perhaps these scenes were shot at different times?

These short scenes are the only times David appears in the play. He's given credit in the end titles. Of significance, though, is he is NOT credited as the "Third Squaddie" (a designation I've seen all over the Internet for close to a decade). He's just the third squaddie listed.

The BFI (British Film Institute) holds a VHS video recording of Biting The Hands. The copy is in "pending" status, which means it's unlikely the copy can be viewed.

Before I close this post on Biting The Hands, two more little benefits: here are its opening sequence, and its title frame!

[iminsanearenti]

#1 Dramarama (1983-1989) S. 6 Ep. 13 "The Secret of Croftmore"

I couldn't find a good picture of the show's poster so have a screenshot instead.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Episode Summary: A teenage Scottish boy named Calum Gillies, who does not want to leave his beloved Croftmore in the Highlands to move to Edinburgh, receives assistance from the ghosts of his distant relatives. - IMDB

For a little more context David plays Niel, Callum's asshole cousin who is visiting with his sister Fiona and their dad, Callum's uncle.

Normally I'd list the good and the bad but I don't have that much to say so I'll talk about it a bit and then give my notes. Dramarama is a kids show made up of mini plays and for what it is I think this episode did a good job. It's a sweet story about family and home and even manages to fit in some satisfying character growth into the 25 min runtime. It's nothing groundbreaking but it was fun. It's also handy that each episode was a completely different story cause I didn't have to do that much research.

Random:

BABY!!! He's only 17 omg.

David's character is an asshole but his silly hair makes up for it.

I love getting to hear his real accent in roles.

GHOSTS

Ghost David is slaying

"How old were you when your father died" GIRL WHAT!!? Fiona I love you but where did that come from.

Apologies!! He's growing :)

Croftmore is saved!!

He's so cutie it's not ok

[elsinore-and-inverness]

DT doing a better job promoting Dramarama: The Secret of Croftmore (1988) on Times Radio than Good Omens 🙈

[accio-spaceman]

So David Tennant’s first acting role (according to IMDB) was in a “Dramarama” episode called “The Secret Of Croftmore”, in which he played a character called Neil McDonald.

Little ironic that the name of his first acting role was also a combination of his own name and Neil Tennant from The Pet Shop Boys...

[literatemisfit]

David Tennant’s episode of Dramarama, “The Secret of Croftmore” (1988) Credit x

[nightingaleonmedication]

Dramarama ~ The Secret of Croftmore (Part Two)

much thanks to BlogtorWho for posting on daily motion: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xej8jh_dramarama-the-secret-of-croftmore-p_shortfilms

[avoirbanane]

[toomuchlove-willkillyou]

[reditail]

David Tennant Dramarama：The Secret of Croftmore

Features David Tennant's first ever on-screen acting appearance.

He is 17.

[elsinore-and-inverness]

Watched The Secret of Croftmore again and just noticed Neil’s pink suitcase. Which is such a David thing, honestly. Of course he has a pink suitcase.

[elsinore-and-inverness]

On the subject of The Secret of Croftmore- Just the look of pure wonder on Neil's face when he sees the ghosts. Like, up until then he's been all moody and annoyed but in a single moment all of that falls away. It's a simple thing, but that one instant sells and justifies the entire plot.

[nightingaleonmedication]

Dramarama ~ The Secret of Croftmore (Part One)

much thanks to BlogtorWho for posting on daily motion: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xej8f5_dramarama-the-secret-of-croftmore-p_shortfilms